Weezie's Kitchen Unveils New Gluten-Free Cinnamon Pumpkin Donuts

At this point, everything has undergone its seasonal pumpkin transformation. Lattes are pumpkin-ized. Pies are pumpkin-ized. And even donuts are being served in appetizing pumpkin spiced flavors. And while that's all really wonderful, the folks with gluten allergies or Celiac disease are left with a pumpkin-shaped hole in their stomachs.

Not if Louise Dutton of Weezie's Gluten-Free Bakery can help it.

Two weeks Dutton revealed her latest gluten-free concoction: cinnamon pumpkin donuts. And they've received quite the cult following since their debut.

Dutton has never made gluten-free donuts before, let alone gluten-free cinnamon pumpkin donuts. She finagled with a gluten-free cake recipe she had until she perfected it.

"I like when people ask for things not on the menu," Dutton says. "It forces me to make it and it makes me happy to make it. I liked to be challenged and to try baking new and different things."

The donuts are small and fit in your hand. They're not fried or lathered in food-colored icing and sprinkles. Once you eat one there is no carb coma or sugar high that follows, just content satisfaction.

"I first started working with ways that others make traditional fried donuts and I made them fried but I wanted to get away from it," Dutton explains. "I've been eating gluten-free for so long I no longer liked the taste of it fried so I baked the donuts. I prefer them this way."

The donuts are made from fresh pumpkin which is cooked and roasted. She uses gluten-free flour, millet flour, a gluten-free grain called sorghum, and butter, eggs, organic sugar. And of course, her perfected top-secret blend of seasonal spices.

Once the donuts are out of the oven, she dips them in cinnamon and sugar.

"When the first batch came out of the oven and they were ready I posted about it on Facebook," Dutton says. "Within two hours they were all gone."

Dutton has been working on expanding the flavors of donuts in her shop. She already has a chocolate donut which she plans to tops with a sugar glaze and decorates with white chocolate stripes. Her apple cinnamon donut is almost finalized too.

"Started with a cake base and then I made it fluffier," Dutton reveals. "I then just tweaked it until I got it to taste how I wanted."

Dutton also serves other gluten-free seasonally-spiced goods like pumpkin and pecan pies, along with pumpkin tarts.

Weezies Kitchen is located at 1859 West Oakland Park Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. Call 954-993-3993 or visit weeziesgfkitchen.com.

Jess Swanson is a staff writer at New Times. Born and raised in Miami, she graduated from the University of Miami’s School of Communication and wrote briefly for the student newspaper until realizing her true calling: pissing off fraternity brothers by reporting about their parties on her crime blog. Especially gifted in jumping rope and solving Rubik’s cubes, she also holds the title for longest stint as an unpaid intern in New Times history. She left the Magic City for New York to earn her master’s degree from Columbia University School of Journalism, where she spent a year profiling circumcised men who were trying to regrow their foreskins for a story that ultimately won the John Horgan Award for Critical Science Journalism. Terrified by pizza rats and arctic temperatures, she quickly returned to her natural habitat.